“There are going to be tough times. There are always tough times. But it’s those who can stand fast, stand tall and battle through it, and I’m going to do my very best to help this team do that.”

Beck showed promise four weeks ago when he relieved a struggling Rex Grossman and led his team on a touchdown drive during the fourth quarter of Washington’s Week 6 loss. He passed for a touchdown and rushed for a score in the team’s loss to Carolina the following week, and then appeared to regress the next week against Buffalo. Beck’s struggles continued on Sunday when he failed to lead Washington on a scoring drive until late in the 19-11 loss to San Francisco. In the last two games, the Beck-led offense has produced only 11 points.

Beck, who this season has completed 60.6 of his passes (80-for-132) for 858 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions and owns a quarterback rating of 72.1, says that he has noticed small improvements each week even if the win-loss column may not reflect it. He believes that maintaining a healthy confidence gives him and his teammates the best chance to succeed.

“If you lose your confidence in what you’re trying to do, you stand no chance of getting better. You stand no chance of fixing things,” Beck said. “It’s when you stay confident, you put your foot in the ground and you say, ‘We’re moving forward, we’re going to continue to take our steps.’ That’s when things can happen. Right now, I believe that’s our mindset. … Because that gives us the best chance.”

Mike Jones covers the Washington Redskins for The Washington Post. When not writing about a Redskins development of some kind – which is rare – he can be found screaming and cheering at one of his kids’ softball, baseball, soccer or basketball games.